Rapid ambient temperature atom transfer radical polymerization of tert‐butyl acrylate

BACKGROUND: Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is considered to be one of the better and easier synthetic tools for the preparation of polymers with controlled molecular weights and polydispersities. Ambient temperature ATRP of tert‐butyl acrylate (tBA) was studied in a detailed manner with ethyl 2‐bromoisobutyrate (EBrB) and tert‐butyl 2‐bromoisobutyrate (tBuBrB) as the initiators for three different degrees of polymerization. RESULTS: Details pertaining to the kinetics of polymerization using different initiators are reported. It is observed that dimethylsulfoxide accelerates the polymerization at room temperature. The use of Cu(II) as the deactivator produces very narrow dispersity polymers. A diblock copolymer, poly(tert‐butyl acrylate)‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate), was synthesized from the poly(tBA) macroinitiator demonstrating the controlled living nature of the polymerizations. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of polymerization is more rapid with a secondary initiator (ethyl 2‐bromopropionate) compared to the tertiary initiators EBrB and tBuBrB. From the detailed kinetic results it is observed that tris(2‐dimethylaminoethyl)amine was a better ligand compared to tris(2‐aminoethyl)amine in terms of achieving controlled polymerization. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Cocrystallization behavior of poly(n‐docosyl acrylate) with n‐docosanoic acid by X‐ray and differential scanning calorimetry studies

Cocrystallization behavior of comb‐like poly(n‐docosyl acrylate) (PDA) with n‐docosanoic acid (C₂₂) has been studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) methods. The DSC curves of blended samples of neat PDA with C₂₂ show the characteristic melting endotherms that correspond to the melting of the crystallites. DSC measurements of PDA/C₂₂ blends also suggest the existence of another crystalline form induced by the addition of the C₂₂. From the XRD measurements, the existence of hexagonally‐packed crystalline lattice and the phase behavior of PDA/C₂₂ blends at different mole percent are confirmed. Thermal degradation behavior of PDA and its corresponding blends with C₂₂ is studied by thermogravimetric analysis. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 97: 2140–2146, 2005     

Amphiphilic diblock and crosslinked copolymers synthesized via metal‐free atom transfer radical polymerization

The use of metal‐free atom transfer radical polymerization (MF‐ATRP) was explored for the formation of diverse macromolecular structures to assess the versatility of this advanced polymerization process. In MF‐ATRP using an organic photocatalyst, 10‐phenylphenothiazine, the influences of various monomers, initiators and solvents were examined, showing that molecular weight and polydispersity could be tailored through appropriate selection of each component. Using this modern polymerization technology, metal‐free amphiphilic diblock and crosslinked copolymers were prepared successfully. Especially, demonstration of amphiphilic diblock copolymer synthesis provides a basis for further applications to biomedical materials. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry     

Uniform star‐polystyrene nanoparticles prepared by emulsion atom transfer radical polymerization

Pentaerythritol (PT) was converted into four‐arm initiator pentaerythritol tetrakis(2‐chloropropionyl) (PT‐Cl) via reaction with 2‐chloropropionyl chloride. Uniform (monodisperse) star‐polystyrene nanoparticles were prepared by emulsion atom transfer radical polymerization of styrene, using PT‐Cl/CuCl/bpy (bpy is 2,2′‐dipyridyl) as the initiating system. The structures of PT‐Cl and polymer were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. The morphology, size and size distribution of the star‐polystyrene nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and photon correlation spectroscopy. It was found that the average diameters of star‐polystyrene nanoparticles were smaller than 100 nm (30–90 nm) and monodisperse; moreover, the particle size could be controlled by the monomer/initiator ratio and the surfactant concentration. The average hydrodynamic diameter (D_h) of the nanoparticles increased gradually on increasing the ratio of styrene to PT‐Cl and decreased on enhancing the surfactant concentration or increasing the catalyst concentration. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Reverse atom transfer radical polymerization of n‐butyl methacrylate in an aqueous dispersed system

Reverse atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of n‐butyl methacrylate (BMA) was conducted in an aqueous dispersed system. The influence of the surfactant, catalyst, reaction time and temperature on the colloidal stability and the control of polymerization was investigated. As a result, using an azo initiator (AIBN), a non‐ionic surfactant (Brij 35) and a hydrophobic ligand (dNbpy) to complex a copper halide, polymers with predetermined molecular weight and low polydispersity were obtained as stable latexes. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

High‐molecular‐weight polyacrylonitrile by atom transfer radical polymerization

A single‐pot atom transfer radical polymerization was used for the first time to successfully synthesize polyacrylonitrile with a molecular weight higher than 80,000 and a narrow polydispersity as low as 1.18. This was achieved with CuBr/isophthalic acid as the catalyst, 2‐bromopropionitrile as the initiator, and N,N‐dimethylformamide as the solvent. The effects of the solvent on the polymerization of acrylonitrile were also investigated. The induction period was shorter in N,N‐dimethylformamide than in propylene carbonate and toluene, and the rate of the polymerization in N,N‐dimethylformamide was fastest. The molecular weight of polyacrylonitrile agreed reasonably well with the theoretical molecular weight in N,N‐dimethylformamide. When chlorine was used in either the initiator or the catalyst, the rate of polymerization showed a trend of decreasing, and the molecular weight deviated from the theoretical predication significantly. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 3372–3376, 2006     

Novel comb‐structured‐polymer‐grafted carbon black by surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization and ring‐opening polymerization

Novel comb‐structured‐polymer‐grafted carbon black (CB) was synthesized with a combination of surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization and ring‐opening polymerization. First, poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) was grafted onto the CB surface by surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. The prepared CB‐g‐PHEMA contained 35.6–71.8% PHEMA, with the percentage depending on the molar ratio of the reagents and the reaction temperature. Then, with PHEMA in CB‐g‐PHEMA as the macroinitiator, poly(?‐caprolactone) (PCL) was grown from the CB‐g‐PHEMA surface by ring‐opening polymerization in the presence of stannous octoate. CB‐g‐PHEMA and CB‐g‐(PHEMA‐g‐PCL) were characterized with Fourier transform infrared, ¹H‐NMR, thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic light scattering, and transmission electron microscopy. The resultant grafted CB had a shell of PHEMA‐g‐PCL. On the whole, the CB nanoparticles were oriented in dendritic lamellae formed by these shells. This hopefully will result in applications in gas sensor materials and nanoparticle patterns. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

m－DVB和p－DVB原子转移自由基聚合动力学

以氯端基聚苯乙烯为大分子引发剂,氯化亚铜／２,２’－联二吡喧为催化剂,邻二甲苯为溶剂,用气相色谱分别研究了对二乙烯基苯（ｐ－ＤＶＢ）和间二乙烯在苯（ｍ－ＤＶＢ）在１００￣１３０℃的原子转移自由基聚合动力学。结果表明,聚合符合表观一级反应动力学。ｐ－ＤＶＢ在１００,１１０,１２０、１３０℃的聚合速率常数分别为０．０７２,０．１２８,０．３７９,０．５４６ｈ＾－１,ｍ－ＤＶＢ在上述不同温度的聚合速率常     

Preparation and characterization of polyaniline N‐grafted with poly(ethyl acrylate) synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization

Polyaniline (PANI) N‐grafted with poly(ethyl acrylate) (PEA) was synthesized by the grafting of bromo‐terminated poly (ethyl acrylate) (PEA‐Br) onto the leucoemeraldine form of PANI. PEA‐Br was synthesized by the atom transfer radical polymerization of ethyl acrylate in the presence of methyl‐2‐bromopropionate and copper(I) chloride/bipyridine as the initiator and catalyst systems, respectively. The leucoemeraldine form of PANI was deprotonated by butyl lithium and then reacted with PEA‐Br to prepare PEA‐g‐PANI graft copolymers containing different amounts of PEA via an N‐grafting reaction. The graft copolymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. Solubility testing showed that the solubility of PANI in chloroform was increased by the grafting of PEA onto PANI. The morphology of the PEA‐g‐PANI graft copolymer films was observed by scanning electron microscopy to be homogeneous. The electrical conductivity of the graft copolymers was measured by the four‐probe method. The results show that the conductivity of the PANI decreased significantly with increasing grafting density of PEA onto the PANI backbone up to 7 wt % and then remained almost constant with further increases in the grafting percentage of PEA. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

原子转移自由基聚合最新研究进展

概述了原子转移自由基聚合（ATRP）在引发体系、反应温度、反应介质、实施方法等方面的进展；介绍了3种不同催化剂脱除技术；结合最新的研究成果，着重论述了ATRP在进行聚合物分子设计，制备窄分子量分布聚合物、无规、梯度和交替共聚物，嵌段共聚物，末端官能团聚合物，接枝和梳状聚合物，星型及高支化聚合物等方面的应用。     

Two‐stage grafting onto polyethylene fiber by radiation‐induced graft polymerization and atom transfer radical polymerization

Two‐stage graft polymerization onto polyethylene (PE) fiber was demonstrated. The graft side chain was formed by radiation‐induced graft polymerization. A PE fiber was irradiated with an electron beam and immersed in a vinyl monomer solution. The terminal of the formed graft chain was halogenated using N‐bromosuccinimide. The halogenated graft chain was then extended by atom transfer radical polymerization to obtain block‐copolymer grafted PE fibers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Synthesis of poly(octadecyl acrylate‐b‐styrene‐b‐octadecyl acrylate) triblock copolymer by atom transfer radical polymerization

The synthesis of triblock copolymer poly(octadecyl acrylate‐b‐styrene‐b‐octadecyl acrylate), using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), is reported. The copolymers were prepared in two steps. First, polystyrene was synthesized by ATRP using α,α′‐dichloro‐p‐xylene/CuBr/bpy as the initiating system; Second, polystyrene was further used as macroinitiator for the ATRP of octadecyl acrylate to prepare ABA triblock copolymers in the presence of FeCl₂·4H₂O/PPh₃ in toluene. Polymers with controlled molecular weight (M_n = 17,000–23,400) and low polydispersity index value (1.33–1.44) were obtained. The relationship between molecular weight versus conversion showed a straight line. The effect of reaction temperature on polymerization was also investigated, showing a faster polymerization rate under higher temperature. The copolymers were characterized by FTIR, ¹H‐NMR, DSC, and GPC and the crystallization behavior of the copolymers was also studied. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 1539–1545, 2004     

Preparation of hyperbranched polymers by atom transfer radical polymerization

A cheap acrylic AB* monomer, 2‐(2‐chloroacetyloxy)‐isopropyl acrylate (CAIPA), was prepared from 2‐hydroxyisopropyl acrylate with chloroacetyl chloride in the presence of triethylamine. The self‐condensing vinyl polymerization by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), a “living”/controlled radical polymerization, has yielded hyperbranched polymers. All the polymerization products were characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H NMR). CAIPA exhibited distinctive polymerization behavior that is similar to a classical step‐growth polymerization in the relationship of molecular weight to polymerization time, especially during the initial stage of the polymerization. However, a significant amount of monomer remained present throughout the polymerization, which is consistent with typical chain polymerization. Also, if a much longer polymerization time was used, the polymer became gel. As a result of the unequal reactivity of group A* and B*, the polymerization is different from an ideal self‐condensing vinyl polymerization: the branch structures of polymers prepared depend dramatically on the ratio of 2,2'‐bipyridyl to CAIPA. Hyperbranched polymers exhibit improved solubility in organic solvent, however, they have lower thermal stability than their linear analogs. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 2114–2123, 2002     

Kinetic study of atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate in ionic liquids

The kinetics of methyl methacrylate (MMA) homopolymerization performed by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is investigated in detail using ethyl‐2‐bromopropionate (EPN‐Br) as initiator, CuBr as catalyst, and pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) as ligand in ionic liquids (ILs) and acetonitrile. ILs in this research covered two different substitutional imidazolium cations and anions including halogen and halogen‐free ones. The typical cations include 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium, 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium and the typical anions include bromide, tetrafluoroborate. The effects of solvents, temperature, and reaction ingredients ratios on the polymerization kinetics are all investigated in this article and the apparent energy of activation (ΔE) calculated for the ATRP of MMA in 1‐butyl‐3‐methyl‐imidazolium tetrafluoroborate is 6.95 KJ/mol. The number‐average molecular weights (M_n) increase linearly with conversion but are much higher than the theoretical values. It is probably due to the low concentration of deactivator at the early stage of polymerization and the lower bond energy of C‐Br in PMMA‐Br than that in EPN‐Br. Moreover, the catalyst is easily separated from the polymer and the regenerated catalyst is reused for more than three times. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Reverse atom transfer radical polymerization of acrylonitrile

FeCl₃ coordinated by succinic acid was used as the catalyst for the first time in azobisisobutyronitrile‐initiated reverse atom transfer radical polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN). N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF) was used as a solvent to improve the solubility of the ligand. A FeCl₃ to succinic acid ratio of 0.5 not only gives the best control of molecular weight and its distribution but also provides rather rapid reaction rate. Effects of different solvents on polymerization of AN were also investigated. The rate of the polymerization in DMF is faster than that in propylene carbonate and toluene. The molecular weight of polyacrylonitrile agrees reasonably well with the theoretical molecular weight in DMF. The rate of polymerization increases with increasing the polymerization temperature, and the apparent activation energy was calculated to be 64.8 kJ mol^?1. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 32–36, 2006     

Emulsion copolymerization of styrene and butyl acrylate by reverse atom transfer radical polymerization

Reverse atom transfer radical copolymerization of styrene (St) and butyl acrylate was carried out in emulsion under normal emulsion conditions, using CuBr₂/bpy complex as catalyst. The effects of surfactant type, initiator type and concentration, and CuBr₂ addition on the system livingness, polymer molecular weight control, and latex stability were examined in detail. It was found that the Polysorbate 80 (Tween 80) and azodiisobutyronitrile gave the best exhibition in this system, polymer samples were got with narrow molecular‐weight dispersity (M_w/M_n = 1.1–1.2) and linear relationships of molecular weight versus monomer conversion, as well as a relatively low polydispersity index (<0.1). Through the GPC and SEM analysis, the polymerization processes under these conditions showed good living/control characteristics relative to the processes under normal emulsion polymerization, although the latex stability was susceptible to the CuBr₂ catalyst. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Properties of poly(n‐butyl methacrylate) prepared by reverse atom transfer radical polymerization in an aqueous dispersed system

Reverse atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of n‐butyl methacrylate (BMA) in waterborne media using Cu(II) complexes with azo initiators (i.e., reverse ATRP) was conducted. The influence of several factors, such as surfactant, catalyst, and reaction time, on the stability of the emulsion, the particle size, the morphology of the emulsion particles, and the control of the polymerization was investigated. The results showed great differences between ATRP and conventional emulsion polymerization, especially the nucleation mechanism and the kinetics. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 1542–1547, 2003     

Ultrasonically initiated emulsion polymerization of n‐butyl acrylate

Ultrasonically initiated emulsion polymerization of n‐butyl acrylate (BA) without added initiator has been studied. The experimental results show that high conversion of BA can be reached in a short time by employing an ultrasonic irradiation technique with a high purge rate of N₂. The viscosity average molecular weight of poly(n‐butyl acrylate) (PBA) obtained reaches 5.24 × 10⁶ g mol^?1. The ultrasonically initiated emulsion polymerization is dynamic and complicated, with polymerization of monomer and degradation of polymer occurring simultaneously. An increase in ultrasound intensity leads to an increase in polymerization rate in the range of cavitation threshold and cavitation peak values. Lower monomer concentration favours enhancement of the polymerization rate. ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and FTIR spectroscopies reveal that there are some branches and slight crosslinking, and also carboxyl groups in PBA. Ultrasonically initiated emulsion polymerization offers a new route for the preparation of nanosized latex particles; the particle size of PBA prepared is around 50–200 nm as measured by transmission electron microscopy. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Atom transfer radical polymerization of n‐butyl methacrylate in an aqueous dispersed system

Atom transfer radical polymerization of n‐butyl methacrylate (BMA) was conducted in an aqueous dispersed system with different kinds of copper complexes. The partitioning behavior of the copper complexes, including CuCl/4,4′‐di(5‐nonyl)‐2,2′‐bipydine (dNbpy), CuCl₂/dNbpy, CuCl/2,2′‐bipydine (bpy), CuCl₂/bpy, CuCl/bis(N,N′‐dimethylaminoethyl)ether (bde), and CuCl₂/bde between the monomer (BMA), and water was studied in detail with ultraviolet‐visible spectroscopy. The results show that with a less hydrophobic ligand, such as bpy or bde, most of the Cu(I) or the Cu(II) complexes migrated from the BMA phase to the aqueous phase, the atom transfer equilibrium was destroyed, and the polymerization was nearly not controlled; it converted to classical emulsion polymerization. As to the very hydrophobic ligand dNbpy, although the partitioning study of the copper complexes indicated that not all the copper species were restricted to the organic phase, the linear correlation between the molecular weight and the monomer conversion and the narrow polydispersities confirmed that the polymerization was still quite well controlled. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 3175–3179, 2003     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(n‐butyl methacrylate)‐b‐polystyrene diblock copolymers by atom transfer radical emulsion polymerization

Poly(n‐butyl methacrylate) (PBMA)‐b‐polystyrene (PSt) diblock copolymers were synthesized by emulsion atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). PBMA macroinitiators that contained alkyl bromide end groups were obtained by the emulsion ATRP of n‐butyl methacrylate with BrCH₃CHCOOC₂H₅ as the initiator; these were used to initiate the ATRP of styrene (St). The latter procedure was carried out at 85°C with CuCl/4,4′‐di(5‐nonyl)‐2,2′‐bipyridine as the catalyst and polyoxyethylene(23) lauryl ether as the surfactant. With this technique, PBMA‐b‐PSt diblock copolymers were synthesized. The polymerization was nearly controlled; the ATRP of St from the macroinitiators showed linear increases in number‐average molecular weight with conversion. The block copolymers were characterized with IR spectroscopy, ¹H‐NMR, and differential scanning calorimetry. The effects of the molecular weight of the macroinitiators, macroinitiator concentration, catalyst concentration, surfactant concentration, and temperature on the polymerization were also investigated. Thermodynamic data and activation parameters for the ATRP are also reported. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 2123–2129, 2005